Mongol invasion of Europe

The Mongol invasion of Europe occurred from 1240 to 1242 when the Mongol Empire invaded Eastern Europe and Central Europe. The Mongols defeated the Polish at the Battle of Legnica and Hungary at the Battle of Mohi before being forced to withdraw due to the death of Ogedei Khan.

Campaign
In December of 1240, the Mongols were ready to pounce on Poland and Hungary. Batu Khan sent ambassadors to Duke Henry II the Pious of Poland and King Bela IV of Hungary, but both of the envoys were killed. The Mongols responded by invading Central Europe in three columns, with the first group under Baidar, Kadan, and Orda Khan invading Polang, another force invading through the Carpathians via Verecke Pass, and another force attacking across the Danube River. The force invading Poland marched 50 miles a day and sacked Lublin and Sandomierz on 13 February 1241, and they then split their force. Orda and his forces moved into central Poland, while Baidar and Kadan defeated a small Polish force at Tursko in late February. The capital of Poland, Krakow, was abandoned, looted, and then burned, and the Mongols then advanced on the central city of Silesia, Wroclaw, which was left undefended by the Polish nobility. Kadan discovered that a great host was marching towards his army, so the Mongols intercepted the Poles on 9 April 1241 at the Battle of Legnica. Henry's 8,000-strong Polish, Moravian, Bavarian, and Teutonic cavalry force faced the 6,000-strong Mongol force of horse archer and lancers under Baidar. Baidar's vanguard pushed back the first wave of Polish cavalry, after which Duke Henry II sent the rest of his cavalry forward. The Mongols launched a feigned retreat to separate the Mongol cavalry from the infantry, and Mongol horse archers fired on the rear of the confused Polish riders, who were disoriented by a smoke screen. The Polish knights were annihilated, and the Mongols then charged the Polish peasants. Henry was captured and beheaded, and his head was exposed before the town of Legnica. 600 kilometers to the south, King Bela lined up his armies for battle after six days of chasing the main Mongol force, and they met the Mongols at the Battle of Mohi. The 20,000-strong Mongol army was outnumbered by the 40,000-strong Hungarian, Croatian, Austrian, and Templar army, of which 15,000 were cavalry. The Mongols crossed the bridge under the veil of darkness, and their vanguard was destroyed by Hungarian crossbowmen. On the morning of 11 April 1241, Subedei sent a force north to cross the river, while Batu had seven heavy catapults attack the Hungarian crossbowmen. Subedei and his force ambushed the bridge guards from the rear, but Batu failed to array his troops in a proper formation. As the Mongols were pushed against the river, Subedei again attacked the Hungarians from the rear and surrounded their cavalry. The Hungarians thrice failed to break the encirclement of their army and were defeated, and most of the escaped defenders were chaed down by more archers laying in ambush. The Hungarian army was destroyed, and Bela made it to safety, leaving the population of Hungary at Subedei's mercy. The Mongols ravaged the countryside, starting with Pest, and half of the settlements on the Hungarian plains were destroyed. Hungary lost 500,000 of its population to the Mongols, who then invaded Serbia and Bulgaria, ravaging both of the lands and forcing the Bulgarians to become a tributary state. The Holy Roman Emperor began to levy his troops and organize a defense against a further Mongol invasion, but Ogedei's death in December 1241 forced Batu and most of his troops to return to Mongolia to participate in the election of the new Khan, saving Europe.